JP6711389B2 - Inkjet recording device and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an inkjet recording device having a tank capable of injecting ink through an inlet.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an inkjet recording apparatus is known that includes a tank that can be replenished with ink through an inlet instead of a replaceable ink cartridge. In such an ink jet recording apparatus, for example, as described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, some sensors cannot detect which color ink has been replenished and to what extent. Therefore, the printing systems described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 execute an ink replenishment process that causes the user to input which color of ink has been replenished in the tank when replenishing the ink in the tank.

Specifically, when a user operates a computer connected to the inkjet printer, the computer sends a lock release command for unlocking the tank case to the inkjet printer. As a result, the ink replenishment screen is displayed on the monitor of the computer. Next, the user rotates the tank case to a state where ink can be replenished and opens the replenishment port to put the tank in a state where ink can be replenished. Next, the user replenishes the ink from the ink bottle to the tank, restores the tank case, and then selects the [Next] button on the ink replenishment screen. As a result, a screen for inquiring the color of the replenished ink (hereinafter referred to as "inquiry screen") is displayed on the monitor. Then, the user inputs which color of ink is replenished in the tank through the inquiry screen.

Further, the ink jet printers described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 count the amount of ink ejected by the ejection head by software, and prohibit ink ejection when the count value reaches a limit value. Then, the inkjet printer resets the count value corresponding to the color of the replenished ink received through the inquiry screen in the replenishment process.

JP 2012-066563 A JP, 2013-006320, A

The inquiry screen described above is displayed on the monitor by using the unlock command as a trigger. Here, it is assumed that the ink jet printer is provided with a sensor that detects whether the tank case is in a state where image recording is performed or a state where ink can be injected. In this inkjet printer, an inquiry screen may be displayed on the monitor in response to a change in the tank case state detected by a sensor, instead of the unlock command. In addition, it is assumed that the inkjet printer includes a cover that covers or opens the ink inlet of the tank, and a cover sensor that detects opening/closing of the cover. In this inkjet printer, it is possible to display an inquiry screen according to the opening/closing operation of the cover detected by the cover sensor.

However, the user who operates the tank case or the cover does not always replenish the tank with ink. Requesting an input to the inquiry screen each time the operation of the tank case or the cover is detected by the user who has not refilled the ink may make the user feel annoyed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an inkjet recording apparatus capable of displaying a screen requesting user input depending on whether or not ink has been injected into a tank. To do.

(1) The inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention is an ink chamber for storing ink, and a tank in which an injection port for injecting ink into the ink chamber is formed, and the ink chamber is covered with the injection port. Of a cover position that regulates the ink injection and a cover position that is movable between the exposure position that exposes the injection port and allows the ink injection into the ink chamber, and a position signal corresponding to the position of the cover. A cover sensor that outputs, a recording unit that ejects the ink stored in the ink chamber to record an image on a sheet, a display unit that displays information, and an operation that outputs an operation signal according to the received user operation. And a control unit that controls the operations of the recording unit and the display unit. The operation unit outputs the first operation signal, which is the operation signal, in response to receiving the first operation, which is the user operation corresponding to the injection of ink, and determines that the ink has not been injected. The second operation signal, which is the operation signal, is output in response to receipt of the corresponding second operation, which is the user operation. The control section controls the ejection of ink by the recording section in response to the position signal corresponding to the position of the cover located at the exposed position being output by the cover sensor; An estimation process of estimating whether or not ink has been injected into the ink chamber in response to the position signal output by the cover sensor corresponding to the position of the cover at the covering position, and the estimation process. In response to the fact that the ink has been estimated to have been injected in, the inquiry information for inquiring whether or not the ink has been injected is displayed on the display unit, and the first operation or the second operation is performed via the operation unit. And an unlocking process for releasing the restriction by the restricting process in response to the completion of the inquiring process or the estimation process that ink is not injected. Execute.

According to the above configuration, when it is estimated that the ink is injected into the ink chamber in the estimation process, the inquiry information is displayed when the cover is at the covering position. Then, when the inquiry process ends, the restriction by the restriction process is canceled by the cancellation process. On the other hand, if it is estimated that the ink is not injected into the ink chamber in the estimation process, the restriction by the restriction process is released by the release process without performing the inquiry process.

(2) Preferably, the control unit further executes an ejection count process of counting the amount of ink discharged by the recording unit, and in the estimation process, the cover sensor moves the cover to the covering position. That the count value of the ink amount until the position signal corresponding to the cover sensor being moved to the exposure position is output after the position signal corresponding to When it is below a preset threshold value, it is estimated that the ink is not injected into the ink chamber, and when it is greater than the preset threshold value, it is estimated that the ink is injected into the ink chamber.

According to the above configuration, it is estimated whether or not ink has been injected according to the amount of ink ejected by the recording unit from the time the cover is moved to the covering position to the time it is moved to the exposure position.

(3) Preferably, the control unit responds to the ink amount corresponding to the ejection count process of counting the amount of ink ejected by the recording unit and the output of the first operation signal in the inquiry process. Initialization processing with the count value as the initial value is further performed, and the estimation processing is performed when the position signal corresponding to the cover sensor being moved to the exposure position is output by the cover sensor. When the count value is the initial value, it is estimated that the ink is not injected into the ink chamber, and when it is not the initial value, it is estimated that the ink is injected into the ink chamber.

According to the above configuration, whether or not the ink has been injected is estimated depending on whether or not the count value of the ink when the cover is moved to the exposure position is the initial value.

(4) Preferably, the control unit outputs the position signal indicating that the cover has been moved to the exposed position, and then outputs the position signal indicating that the cover has been moved to the covering position. When the count value of the time is less than or equal to a preset threshold value, the estimation process estimates that ink has not been injected into the ink chamber. Then, when it is larger than the preset threshold value, it is estimated that the ink is injected into the ink chamber.

According to the above configuration, it is estimated whether or not the ink has been injected according to the time from when the cover is moved to the exposure position to when it is moved to the covering position.

(5) Preferably, the control unit, in response to the discharge count process of counting the amount of ink discharged from the recording unit, the count value of the ink amount has reached a preset threshold value, the ink An informing process of informing that it is necessary to inject ink into the chamber through the display unit is further executed.

According to the above configuration, the user can recognize that the ink remaining amount in the ink chamber is small by visually recognizing the display unit.

(6) Preferably, the control unit further executes the notification processing in response to the position signal corresponding to the cover sensor being moved to the exposed position being output by the cover sensor.

According to the above configuration, even when the cover is at the exposed position, the user can visually recognize the display unit to recognize that the ink remaining amount in the ink chamber is small.

(7) Preferably, the tank is formed with a plurality of the ink chambers in which inks of different colors are stored, and a plurality of the injection ports for injecting ink into the ink chambers. ..

(8) The present invention, an ink chamber for storing ink, and a tank in which an injection port for injecting ink into the ink chamber is formed, and to inject the ink into the ink chamber by covering the injection port. A cover that is movable between a covering position that regulates and an exposure position that exposes the injection port and allows the ink to be injected into the ink chamber; and a cover sensor that outputs a position signal according to the position of the cover. A recording unit that discharges the ink stored in the ink chamber to record an image on a sheet, a display unit that displays information, and a first operation corresponding to the injection of the ink A program executable by a computer, comprising: an operation unit that outputs a first operation signal and outputs a second operation signal in response to receiving a second operation corresponding to the fact that ink is not injected. When the cover sensor outputs the position signal corresponding to the position of the cover at the exposed position, the cover sensor restricts ink discharge by the recording unit, An estimation process for estimating whether or not ink is injected into the ink chamber in response to the output of the position signal corresponding to the position of the cover at the covering position, and the ink is injected in the estimation process. Inquiry processing for displaying, on the display unit, inquiry information for inquiring whether or not the ink has been injected, and for receiving the first operation or the second operation via the operation unit, , A cancellation process for canceling the regulation by the regulation process in response to the completion of the inquiry process or the estimation that the ink is not injected in the estimation process. ..

According to the present invention, inquiry information is displayed on the display unit when it is estimated that ink has been injected into the tank in the estimation process, and inquiry information is displayed on the display unit when it is estimated that ink has not been injected into the tank. Since the regulation of the recording unit is released without being performed, the screen requesting the user's input can be displayed depending on whether or not the ink is injected into the tank. As a result, it is possible to reduce the possibility that a user who has opened and closed the cover but has not injected the ink feels troublesome.

1A and 1B are external perspective views of the multi-function device 10. FIG. 1A shows a state in which the cover 70 is closed, and FIG. 1B shows a state in which the cover 70 is open. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the recording unit 24 and the ink tank 100. FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the ink tank 100. FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of the ink tank 100. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional perspective view taken along line VV of FIG. 6A is a sectional view taken along line VI(A)-VI(A) of FIG. 5, and FIG. 6B is a sectional view taken along line VI(B)-VI(B) of FIG. FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the multifunction machine 10. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the processing when the cover is open. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the inquiry process A. FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the reinjection notification process. FIG. 11 is a flowchart of inquiry processing B. FIG. 12 is a flowchart of the image recording process. FIG. 13 is a flowchart of the empty process.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described. The embodiment described below is merely an example of the present invention, and it goes without saying that the embodiment of the present invention can be appropriately changed without changing the gist of the present invention. In this specification, the up-down direction 7 is defined based on the state in which the multifunction machine 10 is installed so as to be usable, and the front-rear direction 8 is defined with the side where the opening 13 of the multifunction machine 10 is provided as the front side. Then, the left-right direction 9 is defined when the multifunction peripheral 10 is viewed from the front side.

[Overall Configuration of Multifunction Device 10]
As shown in FIG. 1, the multifunction device 10 is formed into a substantially rectangular parallelepiped. The multifunction device 10 has a print function of recording an image on a sheet by an inkjet recording method. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 7, the multifunction device 10 includes a feed tray 20, a discharge tray 21, a transport unit 23, a recording unit 24, and an ink tank 100 (an example of a tank). Is equipped with. In addition, the multi-function device 10 may have various functions such as a facsimile function and a scanner function. The multifunction device 10 is an example of an inkjet recording device and is also an example of a computer.

[Feed tray 20, discharge tray 21]
As shown in FIG. 1, the feed tray 20 is inserted into and removed from the multifunction machine 10 by the user in the front-rear direction 8 through an opening 13 formed in the front surface of the multifunction machine 10 and in the center in the left-right direction 9. The feeding tray 20 can support a plurality of stacked sheets. The discharge tray 21 is disposed above the feeding tray 20 and is inserted and removed together with the feeding tray 20. The discharge tray 21 supports the paper discharged by the transport unit 23.

[Conveying unit 23, recording unit 24]
The transport unit 23 transports the sheet supported by the feed tray 20 to the discharge tray 21 via a position facing the recording unit 24. The transport unit 23 is composed of, for example, a roller that contacts and rotates a sheet. The recording unit 24 discharges the ink stored in the ink tank 100 to record an image on the sheet conveyed by the conveying unit 23. The recording unit 24 includes, for example, a carriage that moves in a direction that intersects with the sheet conveyance direction, and a recording head that is mounted on the carriage and ejects ink.

As shown in FIG. 2, an ink tube 32 and a flexible flat cable 33 are connected to the recording unit 24. The ink tube 32 supplies the ink stored in the ink tank 100 to the recording unit 24. More specifically, four ink tubes 32B, 32M, 32C, and 32Y in which inks of respective colors (black, magenta, cyan, and yellow) are distributed (these may be collectively referred to as "ink tubes 32"). .) is extended from the ink tank 100, and these are bundled and connected to the recording unit 24. The flexible flat cable 33 transmits the control signal output from the control unit 130 (see FIG. 7) to the recording unit 24.

[Ink tank 100]
The ink tank 100 is arranged inside the multifunction machine 10 as shown in FIG. The ink tank 100 is fixed to the multifunction machine 10 so that it cannot be easily removed from the multifunction machine 10. The ink tank 100 has a front wall 101, a right wall 102, a left wall 103, an upper wall 104, and a lower wall 105. On the other hand, the rear surface of the opened ink tank 100 is sealed by the film 106.

The front wall 101 constitutes the front end of the ink chamber 111 in the front-rear direction 8. The front wall 101 includes a base wall 101A extending substantially in the up-down direction 7 from the lower wall 105, and an inclined wall 101B that is inclined rearward from the upper end of the base wall 101A with respect to the base wall 101A. The front wall 101 has a light-transmitting property such that the ink in the ink chamber 111 can be visually recognized by the user from the outside of the ink tank 100. Note that the front wall 101 is not limited to having a light-transmitting property, and all the walls 101 to 105 may have a light-transmitting property.

The lower wall 105 constitutes the lower end of the ink chamber 111 in the up-down direction 7. As shown in FIG. 5, the lower wall 105 includes an upper wall 145, a lower wall 146, and a connecting wall 147. The upper wall 145 contacts the inner surface of the front wall 101 (more specifically, the base wall 101A). The lower wall 146 contacts the film 106. The lower wall 146 is located below the upper wall 145 and behind the upper wall 145. The connection wall 147 has an upper end connected to a rear end of the upper wall 145 and a lower end connected to a front end of the lower wall 146.

[Ink chamber 111]
As shown in FIG. 4, the ink tank 100 has a plurality of partition walls 107, 108, 109 that partition the internal space of the ink tank 100. The partition walls 107, 108, and 109 extend in the up-down direction 7 and the front-rear direction 8, respectively, and contact the front wall 101, the upper wall 104, the lower wall 105, and the film 106. The partitions 107 to 109 are arranged so as to be separated from each other in the left-right direction 9. As a result, the internal space of the ink tank 100 is divided into four ink chambers 111B, 111M, 111C, and 111Y for storing ink.

The ink chambers 111B, 111M, 111C, and 111Y store ink of different ink colors. Specifically, black ink is stored in the ink chamber 111B, cyan ink is stored in the ink chamber 111C, magenta ink is stored in the ink chamber 111M, and yellow ink is stored in the ink chamber 111Y. The ink to be injected into each ink chamber 111 is provided by filling a predetermined amount in an ink bottle.

However, the form of the ink tank 100 is not limited to the above example. For example, the multi-function device 10 may include four ink tanks each having an ink chamber for storing ink of a different ink color. Further, the number of ink chambers 111 and the ink colors are not limited to the above example. Hereinafter, the ink chambers 111B, 111M, 111C, and 111Y may be collectively referred to as "ink chamber 111". In addition, four components (for example, injection ports 112B, 112M, 112C, 112Y and ink flow paths 114B, 114M, 114C, 114Y, etc., which will be described later) provided corresponding to each ink chamber 111 have a tail end. Only alphabets (B, M, C, Y) are given different reference numbers, and when referring to these generically, the alphabets are omitted (for example, an injection port 112, an ink flow path 114, etc. described later). There is.

Here, the amount of ink filled in the ink bottle is V _max, and a space surrounded by the lower wall 146 and the connecting wall 147 behind and below the upper wall 145 (hereinafter, referred to as “preliminary storage chamber”). Is defined as V ₀ . In this case, the remaining amount threshold is represented by (V ₀ −α), the first emission threshold is represented by [V _max −(V ₀ −α)], and the second emission threshold is represented by (V _max −V ₀ ). expressed. The specific value of α is not particularly limited, but may be determined as follows, for example.

α corresponds to, for example, the volume of the preliminary storage chamber between the upper surface of the upper wall 145B and the upper end of the opening 115. More specifically, α may be set to the same value as the volume or a value slightly smaller than the volume. As a result, in the image recording process described later, the liquid level of the ink in the ink chamber 111 falls below the upper end of the opening 115, and air is mixed into the ink flow path 114, the ink tube 32, and the recording head of the recording unit 24. Can be suppressed. Further, α>0, α<(V _max −V ₀ ), and α<V ₀ are satisfied.

The remaining amount threshold value is a value corresponding to the amount of ink in the ink chamber 111 when the remaining amount signal output from the later-described remaining amount sensor 125 changes. The first discharge threshold corresponds to the amount of ink consumed after the ink for one ink bottle is injected into the empty ink chamber 111 until the amount of ink in the ink chamber 111 reaches the remaining amount threshold. The second discharge threshold value is consumed after the ink for one ink bottle is injected into the empty ink chamber 111 until the height of the liquid surface in the ink chamber 111 and the height of the upper wall 145 coincide with each other. Corresponds to the ink amount. The first emission threshold and the second emission threshold (these may be collectively referred to as “emission threshold”) are values that are compared with a count value described later. The remaining amount threshold value, the first ejection threshold value, and the second ejection threshold value may be different values for each ink chamber 111.

[Injection port 112]
Injection ports 112B, 112M, 112C, and 112Y for injecting ink into each ink chamber 111 are formed in the inclined wall 101B of the ink tank 100. The inlet 112 penetrates the inclined wall 101B in the thickness direction, and connects the corresponding ink chamber 111 to the outside of the ink tank 100. The inclined wall 101B has an inner surface facing each ink chamber 111 and an outer surface facing the outside of the ink tank 100. The inlet 112 may be formed in the upper wall 104 instead of the inclined wall 101B.

The ink tank 100 has caps 113B, 113M, 113C, and 113Y that can be attached to and detached from the respective inlets 112. As shown in FIG. 1A, the cap 113 attached to the inlet 112 is in close contact with the periphery of the inlet 112 and closes the inlet 112. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1B, when the cap 113 is removed from the inlet 112, the inlet 112 is opened. The cap 113 is attached to and detached from the inlet 112 with the cover 70, which will be described later, positioned at the exposed position. Further, the user can inject the ink in the ink bottle into the ink chamber 111 by removing the cap 113 from the inlet 112.

[Ink flow path 114]
Ink tanks 100 are provided with ink flow paths 114B, 114M, 114C and 114Y as shown in FIGS. The ink flow paths 114M, 114C, 114Y are connected to the ink chambers 111M, 111C, 111Y through openings 115M, 115C, 115Y formed near the lower ends of the partition walls 107, 108, 109. The ink flow path 114B communicates with the ink chamber 111B through an opening 115B formed near the boundary between the right wall 102 and the lower wall 105. Further, each ink flow path 114 extending from each opening 115 reaches the right side surface of the ink tank 100 through the openings 116B, 116M, 116C, and 116Y formed in the right wall 102.

Furthermore, the ink flow path 114 extends upward from the opening 116 along the outer surface of the right wall 102 and is connected to the connecting portion 118. Four ink tubes 32B, 32M, 32C, and 32Y (see FIG. 2) corresponding to the inks of the respective colors are connected to the respective connecting portions 118 formed so as to project from the upper wall 104 of the ink tank 100. That is, the ink flow path 114 is a flow path that guides the ink flowing out from the corresponding ink chamber 111 to the recording unit 24 through the ink tube 32 connected to the corresponding connection unit 118.

As shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of protruding walls 121A to 121I are formed on the right wall 102 of the ink tank 100. The projecting wall 121 projects rightward from the outer surface (right side surface) of the right wall 102 and extends along the outer surface of the right wall 102. A film 122 is welded to the right ends of the protruding walls 121A to 121I. The ink flow path 114 between the opening 116 and the connecting portion 118 refers to a space defined by the adjacent projection walls 121A to 121H and the film 122.

[Additional ink chamber 123]
Further, an additional ink chamber 123 is formed on the right side surface of the ink tank 100. The additional ink chamber 123 is defined by the right wall 102, the protruding walls 121H and 121I that are continuous in the circumferential direction, and the film 122. The additional ink chamber 123 is connected to the ink chamber 111B by through holes 123A and 123B that penetrate the right wall 102. In addition, the detected portion 124 is formed in the additional ink chamber 123 by surrounding a front portion, a rear portion, and a lower portion of the through hole 123A with a part of the protruding wall 121I that defines the lower end of the additional ink chamber 123.

In the present embodiment, the height of the lower end of the through hole 123A (in other words, the lower end of the detected portion 124) is located below the upper surface of the upper wall 145B. As a result, when the amount of ink in the ink chamber 111B is equal to or greater than the remaining amount threshold, the ink enters the detected portion 124 via the through hole 123A. On the other hand, when the amount of ink in the ink chamber 111B is less than the remaining amount threshold, the ink in the detected portion 124 is discharged to the ink chamber 111B through the through hole 123A, and the ink exists in the detected portion 124. Disappear.

[Remaining amount sensor 125]
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the multi function device 10 includes a remaining amount sensor 125. The remaining amount sensor 125 has a light emitting portion 125A and a light receiving portion 125B which are arranged to face each other in the front-rear direction 8 with the detected portion 124 interposed therebetween. The light emitting unit 125A outputs light (for example, visible light or infrared light) that passes through the protruding wall 121I and does not pass through the black ink toward the light receiving unit 125B. The light receiving unit 125B outputs a remaining amount signal to the control unit 130 according to whether or not the light output from the light emitting unit 125A is received. In other words, the remaining amount sensor 125 outputs to the control unit 130 a remaining amount signal according to the amount of ink stored in the ink chamber 111B.

The remaining amount sensor 125 according to the present embodiment corresponds to the first remaining amount signal corresponding to the presence of ink in the detected portion 124 (in other words, the amount of ink in the ink chamber 111B is greater than or equal to the remaining amount threshold). Is output. On the other hand, the remaining amount sensor 125 outputs a second remaining amount signal corresponding to the absence of ink in the detected portion 124 (the amount of ink in the ink chamber 111B is less than the remaining amount threshold). In the present embodiment, the signal level of the first remaining amount signal is 0V and the signal level of the second remaining amount signal is 3.3V. That is, "the remaining amount sensor 125 outputs the remaining amount signal" includes that the signal level is 0V. However, the combination of signal levels is not limited to the above example. The same applies to the position signal of the cover sensor 72 described later.

That is, when the black ink for one ink bottle is injected into the empty ink chamber 111B and the amount of ink corresponding to the second discharge threshold is consumed, the liquid level of the ink remaining in the ink chamber 111B and the upper wall. The height of the upper surface of 145B is substantially the same as that of the upper surface. At this time, the remaining amount sensor 125 outputs the first remaining amount signal. Further, when the ink consumption reaches the first discharge threshold value, the liquid level of the ink remaining in the ink chamber 111B is located below the upper wall 145B. At this time, the remaining amount sensor 125 outputs the second remaining amount signal.

[Atmosphere communication 126]
As shown in FIG. 4, the ink tank 100 is formed with atmosphere communication passages 126B, 126M, 126C and 126Y. The atmosphere communication passage 126 communicates the corresponding ink chamber 111 with the atmosphere. More specifically, the atmosphere communication path 126 communicates with a corresponding ink chamber 111 through a notch 127 formed at the upper end of the ink chamber 111, and communicates with the outside of the ink tank 100 through an opening 128.

[Cover 70]
The multifunction machine 10 has a cover 70 as shown in FIG. The cover 70 is rotatably supported by the multifunction machine 10. The cover 70 is rotatable between the covering position shown in FIG. 1(A) and the exposing position shown in FIG. 1(B).

The covering position is a position where the cover 70 covers a part of all the injection ports 112 and restricts the injection of the ink into all the ink chambers 111. When the cover 70 is located at the covering position, a part of each inlet 112 (in other words, a part of each cap 113) is covered. Then, the operation of the user who tries to remove the cap 112 is restricted by the cover 70 that covers a part of each cap 113. That is, the cover 70 located at the covering position restricts the removal of the caps 113, and thus restricts the opening of the injection ports 112. As a result, the cover 70 located at the covering position restricts the ink injection into all the ink chambers 111. However, the entire cover 112 may be entirely covered by the cover 70. That is, the cover 70 may be configured so that the cover 70 located at the covering position can regulate the injection of ink into the ink chamber 111. The exposure position is a position where the cover 70 exposes all the injection ports 112 to the outside of the multifunction machine 10 and allows the ink to be injected into all the ink chambers 111.

That is, a series of ink injection operations by the user are as follows, for example. First, the user moves the cover 70 at the covering position to the exposed position, and removes the cap 113 of the injection port 112 corresponding to the ink color to be injected. Next, the user inserts the tip of the ink bottle into the opened injection port 112 and injects all the ink in the ink bottle into the ink chamber 111. Next, the user who has finished injecting the ink attaches the removed cap 113 to the corresponding inlet 112 and moves the cover 70 to the covering position.

Further, the cover 70 has a transparent window 71 facing the front wall 101 of the ink tank 100 at the covering position. As a result, the user can visually check the remaining amount of ink in the ink chamber 111 through the front wall 101 regardless of whether the cover 70 is in the covering position or the exposing position. Further, the transparent window 71 is configured such that the height of the lower side of the transparent window 71 of the cover 70 (the position in the vertical direction 7) and the height of each upper wall 145 are substantially the same. For this reason, when the ink is stored only in the preliminary storage chamber, it becomes difficult for the user to visually recognize the ink, and at first glance, it can be felt that the ink is not stored in each ink chamber 111.

[Cover sensor 72]
Further, the multifunction device 10 has a cover sensor 72 (see FIG. 7). The cover sensor 72 may be, for example, a mechanical sensor such as a switch with which the cover 70 comes into contact with or separate from it, or an optical sensor that blocks or transmits light depending on the position of the cover 70. The cover sensor 72 outputs a position signal corresponding to the position of the cover 70 to the control unit 130. The cover sensor 72 according to the present embodiment outputs to the control unit 130 a first position signal corresponding to the cover 70 being located at the covering position or a second position signal corresponding to the cover 70 being located at the exposure position. To do. In the present embodiment, the signal level of the first position signal is 0V and the signal level of the second position signal is 3.3V.

[Display unit 14]
The multifunction device 10 includes a display unit 14 as shown in FIG. The display unit 14 displays information that should be notified to the user as a message. Although the specific configuration of the display unit 14 is not particularly limited, for example, a liquid crystal display (abbreviation of Liquid Crystal Display), an organic EL display (abbreviation of Organic Electro-Luminescence Display), or the like can be adopted.

The display unit 14 according to the present embodiment is a rectangle of vertical 8 dots×horizontal 80 dots. That is, the display unit 14 can display a maximum of 16 characters (including spaces) of characters of vertical 8 dots×horizontal 5 dots (vertical about 8 mm×horizontal about 5 mm). Further, when a character string having more than 16 characters is to be displayed on the display unit 14, the character string is scroll-displayed. Furthermore, when the character strings of a plurality of lines are to be displayed on the display unit 14, the character strings of each line are displayed in order.

[Operation section 17]
As shown in FIG. 1, the multifunction device 10 includes an operation unit 17. The operation unit 17 is an input interface that receives an instruction input to the multifunction device 10 from a user. The operation unit 17 according to the present embodiment includes, for example, a plurality of push buttons such as a numeric keypad 17A and a power button 17B. However, the specific configuration of the operation unit 17 is not limited to the push button, and may be a touch sensor superimposed on the display screen of the display unit 14.

The operation unit 17 outputs an operation signal corresponding to the pressed push button to the control unit 130. The operation unit 17 according to the present embodiment has a first operation signal corresponding to the pressing of the [1] button included in the ten-key 17A and a second operation signal corresponding to the pressing of the [2] button included in the ten-key 17A. An operation signal or a third operation signal corresponding to pressing of the power button 17B is output to the control unit 130. The buttons corresponding to the first operation signal, the second operation signal, and the third operation signal are not limited to the above-mentioned examples.

[Communication unit 25]
The multifunction device 10 includes a communication unit 25, as shown in FIG. 7. The communication unit 25 is an interface for communicating with an external device. That is, the multi function device 10 outputs various data to the external device through the communication unit 25 and receives various data from the external device through the communication unit 25. The communication unit 25 may also function as a FAX receiving unit that receives FAX data from an external device.

[Control unit 130]
As shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 130 includes a CPU 131, a ROM 132, a RAM 133, an EEPROM 134, and an ASIC 135, which are connected by an internal bus 137. The ROM 132 stores programs for the CPU 131 to control various operations. The RAM 133 is used as a storage area for temporarily recording data, signals, etc. used when the CPU 131 executes the program, or as a work area for data processing. The EEPROM 134 stores settings and flags that should be retained even after the power is turned off.

The EEPROM 134 stores, for example, an initial flag. The initial flag is a value corresponding to whether or not the multi-function device 10 has executed the initial process. Specifically, the initial flag indicates a first value corresponding to that the initial processing has not been executed yet, or a second value corresponding to that the initial processing has already been executed. The initial process is a process of filling the flow path from the ink chamber 111 to the recording unit 24 (that is, the ink flow path 114 and the ink tube 32) with ink.

At the time of shipment of the multifunction machine 10, the flow path from the ink chamber 111 to the recording unit 24 is not filled with ink. That is, the first value is set to the initial flag when the multifunction peripheral 10 is shipped. Then, the control unit 130 executes the initial process, so that the ink flow path 114, the ink tube 32, and the recording head of the recording unit 24 are filled with ink, and the multifunction peripheral 10 can record an image on a sheet. It becomes a state. That is, the second value is set in the initial flag after the execution of the initial processing. At the time of shipping of the multi-function device 10, a shipping liquid not used for recording an image on a sheet may be filled in the flow path instead of ink. In this case, when the control unit 130 executes the initial process, the shipping liquid in the flow path is discharged and the flow path is filled with the ink.

The EEPROM 134 also stores a count value indicating the amount of ink discharged from the recording unit 24 for each ink color. The count value stored in the EEPROM 134 is initialized (that is, set to 0) in steps S26 and S49 described below, and is incremented in step S69 described below. The count value is compared with the first emission threshold value and the second emission threshold value. The method of updating the count value is not limited to the above example, and for example, a value corresponding to the ink amount V _max filled in the ink bottle may be set in steps S26 and S49, and the count down may be performed in step S69. .. The count value to be counted down is compared with the corresponding remaining amount threshold value.

Further, the EEPROM 134 stores the second count value for each ink color in addition to the count value. The second count value corresponds to the cover sensor 72 moving the cover 70 to the exposure position after the cover sensor 72 outputs the first position signal corresponding to the movement of the cover 70 to the covering position. It is a value indicating the amount of ink ejected from the recording unit 24 until the second position signal is output. The second count value is initialized (that is, set to 0) after execution of step S14 described later, and is incremented in step S69. Note that the method of updating the second count value is not limited to the above example, like the count value.

The transport unit 23, the recording unit 24, the display unit 14, the communication unit 25, the operation unit 17, the cover sensor 72, and the remaining amount sensor 125 are connected to the ASIC 135. The control unit 130 causes the transport unit 23 to transport the sheet, causes the recording unit 24 to eject ink, causes the display unit 14 to display information, and causes the communication unit 25 to communicate with an external device. The control unit 130 also acquires an operation signal from the operation unit 17, a position signal from the cover sensor 72, and a remaining amount signal from the remaining amount sensor 125. The control unit 130, for example, reads the position signal output from the cover sensor 72 and the remaining amount signal output from the remaining amount sensor 125 at predetermined time intervals (for example, 50 msec).

[Operation of multifunction device 10]
The operation of the multifunction device 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 12. Each process shown in FIGS. 8 to 12 is executed by the CPU 131 of the control unit 130. Note that each of the following processes may be executed by the CPU 131 reading out a program stored in the ROM 132, or may be realized by a hardware circuit installed in the control unit 130.

[Processing during cover open]
First, the control unit 130 executes the process shown in FIG. 8 in response to the second position signal being output from the cover sensor 72. The process is executed, for example, in response to the cover 70 being moved from the covering position to the exposing position while the multifunction peripheral 10 is in the standby state (a state in which the image recording process described later is not executed). This process is a process of prompting the user to inject ink into the ink chambers 111 and confirming with the user whether or not ink has been injected into each ink chamber 111.

First, the control unit 130 displays the injection notification screen on the display unit 14 (S11). As the injection notification screen, the control unit 130 alternates the character string of “FILL ALL INK” and the character string of “THEN CROSS INK COVER” in step S11 when the first value is set in the initial flag. To be displayed on the display unit 14.

On the other hand, the control unit 130 changes the character string displayed on the display unit 14 according to the count value stored in the EEPROM 134 in step S11 when the second value is set in the initial flag. Specifically, when the count values of all the ink colors are equal to or more than the second ejection threshold, the control unit 130 causes the character string “REFILL M/C/Y/BK” and the character “THEN CROSS INK COVER”. The columns are displayed alternately on the display unit 14. Further, when there is an ink color whose count value is less than the second discharge threshold, a character representing the corresponding ink color from the above character string (that is, any one of “M”, “C”, “Y”, and “BK”). ) Is omitted. Further, the control unit 130 causes the display unit 14 to display the character string “CLOSE INK COVER” when the count values of all the ink colors are less than the second ejection threshold.

Hereinafter, an ink color having a count value equal to or larger than the second discharge threshold value may be referred to as a “near empty color”. Further, an ink color whose count value is equal to or larger than the first discharge threshold value may be referred to as “empty color”. That is, step S11 when the second value is set as the initial flag is a process of notifying through the display unit 14 that the inks of near empty color and empty color will be injected.

The process of step S11 is an example of an informing process of informing that the ink is injected into the ink chamber 111 through the display unit 14. The notification process is continued until the first position signal is output from the cover sensor 72 in step S13 described later, that is, until the cover 70 is detected to be located at the covering position. In addition, in the notification process, it is allowed that a different character string is displayed on the display unit 14 depending on the state of the multifunction machine 10. The same applies to steps S24, S31, S33, S41, S45, S71, and S73 described later.

Further, the control unit 130 regulates the ejection of ink by the recording unit 24 (S12). That is, the control unit 130 does not start the image recording process shown in FIG. 11 even if the recording instruction described later is acquired during steps S12 to S19. The process of step S12 is an example of the regulation process.

The user who sees the injection notification screen can remove the cap 113 from the injection port 112 and inject ink into the ink chamber 111. Then, the user who has injected the ink can move the cover 70 to the covering position by closing the injection port 112 with the cap 113. Here, the user may inject only the ink of the ink color notified on the injection notification screen. Alternatively, the user may inject all colors of ink or none of the colors of ink. However, the control unit 130 cannot detect which ink color ink has been injected.

Next, the control unit 130 executes the estimation process in response to the first position signal being output from the cover sensor 72 (S13: Yes) (S14). The estimation process is a process of estimating whether or not ink has been injected into the ink chamber 111.

In the present embodiment, the control unit 130 estimates that ink has not been injected into the ink chamber 111 when the second count value is equal to or less than the preset threshold value. The threshold value is set to an extremely small amount as compared with the ink amount V _max filled in one ink bottle. For example, the threshold value is set to about a value required for one execution of a so-called flushing process for discharging the ink to the recording unit 24 toward the ink receiving unit (not shown).

On the other hand, the control unit 130 estimates that ink has been injected into the ink chamber 111 when the second count value is larger than the threshold value.

That is, when the amount of ink consumed from the time the cover 70 is moved to the covering position to the time it is moved to the exposure position is small, the control unit 130 estimates that ink has not been injected into the ink chamber 111. On the other hand, when the amount of ink consumed between the time the cover 70 is moved to the covering position and the time it is moved to the exposure position is large, the control unit 130 estimates that ink has been injected into the ink chamber 111.

Note that the control unit 130 executes initialization of the second count value after executing the estimation process in the process of step S14 and before executing the next step.

In the process of step S14, the control unit 130 executes the processes of step S15 and subsequent steps in response to the estimation that the ink has been injected into the ink chamber 111 (S14: Yes).

The control unit 130 executes the inquiry process A in response to the setting of the first value as the initial flag (S15: first value) (S16). That is, the inquiry process A is executed in response to the cover 70 being moved from the exposed position to the covered position in the multifunction machine 10 in which the initial process has not been executed. The inquiry process A will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

[Query processing before initial processing]
First, the control unit 130 sets the inquiry flag corresponding to each ink color to "OFF" (S21). The inquiry flag is, for example, temporarily stored in the RAM 133 when the inquiry process A is started. Next, the control unit 130 responds to the output of the first remaining amount signal from the remaining amount sensor 125 (S22: Yes), and performs an inquiry process for each of the four ink colors (S23 to S25, S29). To execute. The first remaining amount signal output in step S22 corresponds to the injection of black ink into the ink chamber 111B. That is, in the inquiry process A, the inquiry process corresponding to each color is executed at least in response to the confirmation of the black ink injection.

The first position signal in step S13 is an example of an end signal capable of estimating that the ink injection has ended. However, the specific example of the end signal is not limited to this, and may be, for example, an operation signal output by the operation unit 17 that has received a user operation corresponding to the end of ink injection. Further, the process of step S22 is an example of a pre-confirmation process for confirming at least whether black ink has been injected. However, the method of confirming whether or not the black ink has been injected is not limited to the remaining amount signal, and may be an operation signal output by the operation unit 17 that has received a user operation corresponding to the injection of the black ink. ..

In the query process A, among the plurality of query processes (S23 to S25, S29) that are sequentially executed, the query process that is executed first is an example of the first query process, and the query process that is executed later is the second query process. It is an example of an inquiry process. In the present embodiment, an example in which the inquiry processing is executed in the order of magenta, cyan, yellow, and black will be described, but the execution order is not limited to this. The same applies to the inquiry processing (S45 to S48) of inquiry processing B described later.

In response to the inquiry flag corresponding to magenta being set to “OFF” (S23: Yes), the control unit 130 causes the display unit 14 to display an inquiry screen for magenta (S24). The inquiry screen includes inquiry information for inquiring whether or not ink of the corresponding ink color has been injected. The inquiry information corresponding to magenta includes, for example, a character string “DID YOU FILL” and a character string “[M]? 1.YES 2.NO”. Further, the control unit 130 according to the present embodiment causes the display unit 14 to alternately display the two character strings.

Next, the control unit 130 waits until any operation signal is output from the operation unit 17 (S25: No & S29: No). The user operation of pressing the [1] button included in the numeric keypad 17A in step S25 is an example of a first operation corresponding to the injection of ink. Further, in step S29, the user operation of pressing the [2] button included in the ten-key pad 17A is an example of a second operation corresponding to the fact that ink is not injected. However, the first operation and the second operation are not limited to the above-described example. For example, when the operation unit 17 has the [↑] [↓] buttons, pressing the [↑] button is the first operation. , [↓] button may be pressed as the second operation.

Furthermore, the user operation of pressing the power button 17B is an example of a third operation for instructing execution of a stop process for stopping the supply of power to the multifunction machine 10. However, in the inquiry process A, even if the third operation signal is output from the operation unit 17 in the inquiry process A (S25: No & S29: No), the controller 130 does not execute the stop process corresponding to the third operation signal and makes an inquiry. Continue processing. The specific example of the third operation is not limited to this, and may be any operation different from the first operation and the second operation. Other examples of the third operation include, for example, pressing the [4] to [9] buttons included in the ten-key pad 17A, pressing the [copy] button, pressing the [scan] button, and the like. Even if these buttons are pressed in the inquiry process A, the control unit 130 ignores the operation signal corresponding to the pressed button and continues the inquiry process A.

Then, in response to the output of the first operation signal from the operation unit 17 (S25: Yes), the control unit 130 initializes the count value corresponding to magenta and sets the inquiry flag corresponding to magenta to “ON”. "(S26). The process of initializing the count value in step S26 is an example of the initializing process.

Next, the control unit 130 executes the inquiry process for the next ink color (S28→S23 to S25, S29) when the inquiry process for all the ink colors is not executed (S27: No). Then, the control unit 130 terminates the inquiry process A in response to the execution of the inquiry process for all ink colors (S27: Yes).

On the other hand, in response to the second remaining amount signal being output from the remaining amount sensor 125 in step S22 (S22: No), the control unit 130 executes the re-injection notification process shown in FIG. 10 (S30). .. Similarly, the control unit 130 does not output the first operation signal from the operation unit 17 in step S25 (S25: No) and outputs the second operation signal in step S29 (S29: Yes), The inquiry process being executed is interrupted and the re-injection notification process is executed (S30). The re-injection notification process is a process of moving the cover 70 to the exposed position and urging the ink to be injected.

The control unit 130 causes the display unit 14 to display the re-injection notification screen in the re-injection notification process shown in FIG. 10 (S31). The re-injection notification screen includes, for example, a character string of “FILL INK” and a character string of “OPEN INK COVER”. Further, the control unit 130 according to the present embodiment causes the display unit 14 to alternately display the two character strings. The process of displaying the re-injection notification screen is an example of the re-informing process of informing through the display unit 14 that the cover 70 is moved to the exposed position and the corresponding ink is injected.

Next, the control unit 130 waits until the cover 70 is moved to the exposed position, in other words, until the second position signal is output from the cover sensor 72 (S32: No). At the same time, the control unit 130 continues to display the re-injection notification screen (S31). When the second position signal is output in step S32, the processing in step S33 and subsequent steps is executed instead of the processing shown in FIG. Then, in response to the second position signal being output from the cover sensor 72 (S32: Yes), the control unit 130 causes the display unit 14 to display the injection notification screen as in step S11 (S33). Next, the control unit 130 waits until the cover 70 is moved to the covering position, in other words, until the cover sensor 72 outputs the first position signal (S34: No). At the same time, the control unit 130 continues to display the injection notification screen (S33). Then, in response to the first position signal being output from the cover sensor 72 (S34: Yes), the control unit 130 ends the re-injection notification processing, and executes the processing from step S22 again.

The inquiry processing (S23 to S25, S29) corresponding to the other ink colors is similarly executed. For example, in the inquiry information corresponding to another ink color, the characters (that is, "C", "Y", "BK") corresponding to the ink color are arranged at the position [M] described above. In addition, the control unit 130 initializes the count value corresponding to the ink color in response to the output of the first operation signal from the operation unit 17 in the inquiry process corresponding to another ink color (S25: Yes). At the same time, the inquiry flag corresponding to the ink color is turned on (S26).

Further, in response to the inquiry flag being “ON” in step S23 (S23: No), the control unit 130 executes the processing of step S27 and thereafter without executing steps S24 to S26 and S29. For example, when the [1] button is pressed in the inquiry process for magenta and the [2] button is pressed in the inquiry process for cyan, the control unit 130 executes the inquiry process for magenta after the reinjection notification process. Without executing the query process for cyan.

Further, although not shown, the control unit 130 outputs the second position signal from the cover sensor 72 during execution of the inquiry process (more specifically, waiting for reception of the first operation or the second operation). Accordingly, the inquiry process may be interrupted and the injection notification screen may be displayed again on the display unit 14. Then, the control unit 130 may restart the interrupted inquiry process in response to the output of the first position signal from the cover sensor 72.

Next, returning to FIG. 8, the control unit 130 executes an initial process (S17). Specifically, the control unit 130 causes a pump (not shown) to suck air and ink in the flow path from the ink chamber 111 to the recording unit 24. Further, the control unit 130 sets the initial flag to the second value. Then, the control unit 130 releases the regulation of the ink ejection by the recording unit 24 (S19). That is, the control unit 130 can execute the image recording process shown in FIG. 12 in response to the subsequent acquisition of the recording instruction. The process of step S19 is executed in response to the end of the inquiry process (S16, S18). The process of step S19 is an example of a cancellation process for canceling the restriction by the restriction process.

On the other hand, the control unit 130 executes the inquiry process B in response to the first position signal being output from the cover sensor 72 and the second value being set to the initial flag (S13: Yes & S15: Second value). (S18). That is, the inquiry process B is executed in response to the cover 70 being moved from the exposed position to the covered position in the multifunction machine 10 for which the initial process has already been executed. The inquiry process B will be described in detail with reference to FIG. It should be noted that detailed description of the common points with the inquiry process A will be omitted, and the difference will be mainly described.

[Query processing after initial processing]
First, the control unit 130 causes the display unit 14 to display a prior inquiry screen (S41). The advance inquiry screen includes, for example, a character string of “DID YOU REFILL” and a character string of “INK? 1.YES 2.NO”. In addition, in the present embodiment, the control unit 130 causes the display unit 14 to alternately display the two character strings. Further, the control unit 130 starts a timer for monitoring the threshold time in step S41.

Next, the control unit 130 waits until any operation signal is output from the operation unit 17 until the timer times out (S42: No) (S43: No & S44: No). Then, the control unit 130 performs the second operation from the operation unit 17 in response to a time-out, that is, when the elapsed time after the timer is started reaches the threshold time (S42: Yes) or before the timer times out. In response to the output of the signal (S43: Yes), the inquiry process B ends.

Further, the control unit 130 does not output the second operation signal from the operation unit 17 (S43: No) before the timer times out (S42: No), and in response to the output of the first operation signal (S43: No) (S43: No). (S44: Yes), and the processes after step S45 are performed. The control unit 130 releases the timer started in step S41 in response to the output of either the first operation signal or the second operation signal from the operation unit 17 (S43: Yes, S44: Yes). ..

Next, the control unit 130 causes the display unit 14 to display an inquiry screen for magenta (S45). The process of step S45 is almost the same as the process of step S24. The only difference from step S24 is that the inquiry screen in step S45 includes the character string "DID YOU REFILL" instead of the character string "DID YOU FILL". Moreover, the control part 130 starts the timer which monitors a threshold time in step S45. Then, as in steps S43 to S44, the control unit 130 waits until any operation signal is output from the operation unit 17 until the timer times out (S46: No) (S47: No & S48: No). ). The threshold time monitored by the timer in steps S42 and S46 may be the same time or different times.

Until the timer times out (S46: No), the control unit 130 outputs the first operation signal (S48: No) instead of the second operation signal from the operation unit 17 (S48: No). Yes), and the count value corresponding to magenta is initialized (S49). The process of step S49 is an example of the initialization process. On the other hand, the control unit 130 determines whether the timer has timed out, that is, in response to the elapsed time after the timer has started reaching the threshold time (S46: Yes) or before the timer times out. In response to the output of the two operation signals (S47: Yes), the process of step S50 and subsequent steps is executed without executing the process of step S49. The control unit 130 releases the timer started in step S46 in response to the output of either the first operation signal or the second operation signal from the operation unit 17 (S47: Yes, S48: Yes). ..

Then, in response to the inquiry processing for all ink colors not being executed (S50: No), the control unit 130 executes inquiry processing for the next ink color (S51→S45 to S48). On the other hand, the control unit 130 ends the inquiry process B in response to the execution of the inquiry process for all ink colors (S50: Yes). Further, the control unit 130 releases the regulation of ink ejection by the recording unit 24 (S19).

On the other hand, when it is estimated that the ink is not injected into the ink chamber 111 in the process of step S14 (S14: No), the control unit 130 executes the process of step S19 without executing the processes of steps S15 to S18. To do.

Unlike the inquiry process A, the control unit 130 terminates the inquiry process B in response to the power button 17B being pressed in the inquiry process B, that is, the third operation signal being output from the operation unit 17. The above-mentioned stop processing is executed. On the other hand, as in the inquiry process A, even if the [4] to [9] buttons, the [copy] button, or the [scan] button included in the ten key 17A in the inquiry process B are pressed, the control unit 130 presses them. The inquiry processing B is continued, ignoring the operation signal corresponding to the pressed button.

[Image recording process]
Next, the control unit 130 executes the image recording process shown in FIG. 12 in response to the input of the recording instruction to the multifunction machine 10. However, the control unit 130 does not execute the image recording process even if the recording instruction is acquired in the state where the first value is set in the initial flag or during the execution of the inquiry process B. Then, the image recording process based on the recording instruction is executed in response to the setting of the second value in the initial flag or the end of the inquiry process B.

The recording instruction is an instruction for causing the multifunction peripheral 10 to perform an image recording process of recording an image represented by image data on a sheet. The acquisition destination of the recording instruction is not particularly limited, but may be acquired from the user through the operation unit 17 or from an external device through the communication unit 25, for example. The recording instruction may be an instruction to record an image represented by FAX data on a sheet.

First, the control unit 130 executes the empty process (S62) when the count value corresponding to each of the four ink colors is greater than or equal to the first discharge threshold value (S61: Yes). The empty process is a process for causing the user to replenish ink of a color with a small remaining amount. Details of the empty process will be described with reference to FIG. 13.

First, the control unit 130 causes the display unit 14 to display an empty notification screen (S71). The process of step S71 is an example of a process of notifying that the amount of empty ink is low through the display unit 14. In other words, in the process of step S51, when the count value of the EEPROM 134 reaches the preset threshold value (first discharge threshold value), it is necessary to inject the ink into the ink chamber 111 through the display unit 14. It is an example of a notification process of notifying. The empty notification screen includes a character string of "CANNOT PRINT", a character string of "REFILL [BK] INK", a character string of "REFILL [Y] INK", a character string of "REFILL [C] INK", and "REFILL". Among the character strings of [M] INK, a character string corresponding to the empty color is included. In the present embodiment, the control unit 130 displays a character string of “CANNOT PRINT”, a character string of “REFILL [BK] INK”, a character string of “REFILL [Y] INK”, and “REFILL [C] as an empty notification screen. ] The character string "INK" and the character string corresponding to the empty color of the character string "REFILL [M] INK" are displayed alternately on the display unit 14.

For example, when the count values corresponding to magenta and black are greater than or equal to the first discharge threshold and the count values corresponding to cyan and yellow are less than the first discharge threshold, the control unit 130 at step S51 is "CANNOT PRINT." The character string of “REFILL [M] INK” and the character string of “REFILL [BK] INK” are displayed in order on the display unit 14. The user who sees the empty notification screen can move the cover 70 to the exposed position in order to inject ink into the ink tank 100.

Next, the control unit 130 waits until the cover 70 is moved to the exposed position, in other words, until the second position signal is output from the cover sensor 72 (S72: No). At the same time, the control unit 130 continues to display the empty notification screen (S71). When the second position signal is output in step S72, the processing in step S73 and subsequent steps is executed instead of the processing shown in FIG. Then, in response to the second position signal being output from the cover sensor 72 (S72: Yes), the control unit 130 causes the display unit 14 to display the injection notification screen for the empty color and the near empty color (S73). .. The process of step S73 is the same as the process of step S11. The process of step S73 is an example of a process of notifying that the inks of near empty and empty colors are to be injected through the display unit 14.

In the above example, when the count value corresponding to yellow is greater than or equal to the second emission threshold value and the count value corresponding to cyan is less than the second emission threshold value, the control unit 130 causes the “REFILL M/C/BK” The character string and the character string “THEN CLOSE INK COVER” are alternately displayed on the display unit 14. The user who sees the injection notification screen can inject the ink into the ink chamber 111 and move the cover 70 to the covering position.

Next, the control unit 130 waits until the cover 70 is moved to the covering position, in other words, until the cover sensor 72 outputs the first position signal (S74: No). At the same time, the control unit 130 continues to display the injection notification screen (S73). Then, in response to the first position signal being output from the cover sensor 72 (S74: Yes), the control unit 130 executes the inquiry process B (S75) shown in FIG. 11 and ends the empty process. To do. That is, the inquiry process B is executed in response to the cover 70 being moved from the exposed position to the covered position. By the inquiry process B, the count value corresponding to the ink color for which the first operation is performed is initialized. Since the inquiry process B has already been described with reference to FIG. 11, the repetitive description will be omitted.

Next, returning to FIG. 12, the control unit 130 executes the empty process again (S62) in response to the count value equal to or larger than the first emission threshold even if the empty process is executed (S61: Yes). .. On the other hand, the control unit 130 executes the cueing process (S63) when all the count values are less than the first discharge threshold (S61: No). The cueing process is a process of transporting the paper to the transport unit 23 until the position where the image is first recorded faces the recording unit 24.

Next, the control unit 130 executes a recording process (S64). The recording process is a process of ejecting ink to the recording unit 24 toward a sheet facing the recording unit 24. Further, the control unit 130 counts the amount of ink ejected from the recording unit 24 in each recording process for each ink color, and temporarily stores the corresponding count value in the RAM 133 (S65). Steps S64 and S65 may be executed in parallel. The count value and the second count value temporarily stored in the RAM 133 are different from the count value stored in the EEPROM 134.

Next, the control unit 130 executes the carrying process in response to the fact that the image recording on the sheet has not been completed yet (S66: No) (S67). The carrying process is a process for carrying the paper to the carrying unit 23 by a predetermined line feed width. Then, the control unit 130 repeatedly executes the processes of steps S64 to S67 until the image recording on the paper is completed (S66: Yes).

Next, the control unit 130 executes the discharging process (S68) in response to the completion of the image recording on the sheet (S66: Yes). The ejection process is a process of ejecting the sheet on which the image is recorded to the ejection tray 21. After that, the control unit 130 updates the count value and the second count value stored in the EEPROM 134 using the count value temporarily stored in the RAM 133 (S69). The process of step S69 is an example of the counting process. The updating of the count value and the second count value of the EEPROM 134 is not limited to the timing of step S45. For example, for maintenance of the recording unit 24, so-called flushing process of discharging ink to the recording unit 24 toward an ink receiving unit (not shown) or so-called purging process of sucking ink in the recording unit 24 to a pump (not shown). In, the ink amount discharged from the recording unit 24 in each process may be added to the count value and the second count value stored in the corresponding EEPROM 134.

Next, the control unit 130 repeatedly executes the processes of steps S61 to S69 until all the images indicated by the recording instruction are recorded on the sheet (S70: No). Then, the control unit 130 ends the image recording process in response to recording all the images indicated by the recording instruction on the paper (S70: Yes).

[Operation and effect of this embodiment]
According to the above-described embodiment, when it is estimated that the ink has been injected into the ink chamber 111 in the estimation process (S14: Yes), the inquiry information is displayed when the cover 70 is at the covering position. When the inquiry process (S16, S18) is completed, the restriction by the restriction process (S12) is canceled by the cancellation process (S19). On the other hand, when it is estimated that the ink is not injected into the ink chamber in the estimation processing (S14: No), the restriction by the restriction processing (S12) is canceled by the cancellation processing without performing the inquiry processing (S19). ..

Further, according to the above-described embodiment, according to the amount of ink ejected by the recording unit 24 (the second count value stored in the EEPROM 134) from when the cover 70 is moved to the covering position to when it is moved to the exposure position. Thus, it is estimated whether ink has been injected.

Further, according to the above-described embodiment, the control unit 130 executes the notification process (S71, S73). Therefore, the user can recognize that the ink remaining amount in the ink chamber 111 is small by visually recognizing the display unit 14.

Further, according to the above-described embodiment, the control unit 130 executes the notification process (S11). Therefore, even when the cover 70 is at the exposed position, the user can visually recognize the display unit 14 and recognize that the ink remaining amount in the ink chamber is small.

[Modification 1]
In the above-described embodiment, the control unit 130 estimates whether or not ink is being injected into the ink chamber 111 depending on whether or not the second count value stored in the EEPROM 134 is larger than the threshold value. The second count value is not limited to the threshold value.

For example, the control unit 130 may estimate whether or not ink is being injected into the ink chamber 111, depending on whether or not the count value stored in the EEPROM 134 is the initial value. In this case, the operation of the multifunction machine 10 described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 12 is slightly different from that of the above embodiment. Hereinafter, among the operations of the multi-function peripheral 10 according to the modified example 1, operations different from those of the above-described embodiment will be described. On the other hand, the description of the same operation as that of the above embodiment is omitted.

The control unit 130 causes the display unit 14 to display the injection notification screen in response to the second position signal being output from the cover sensor 72 (S11), and is stored in the EEPROM 13 when the second position signal is output. The stored count value is stored in the RAM 133.

In the estimation process (S14), the control unit 130 estimates that ink is not injected into the ink chamber 111 when the count value stored in the RAM 133 in the process of step S11 is the initial value. The initial value is a value when the count value stored in the EEPROM 134 is initialized in steps S26 and S49. In the first modification, the initial value is 0 as in the above embodiment. On the other hand, the control unit 130 estimates that ink has been injected into the ink chamber 111 when the count value stored in the RAM 133 in the process of step S11 is not the initial value.

The ink injection is performed between the processing of step S11 and the processing of step S13. On the other hand, the initialization of the count value stored in the EEPROM 134 is executed in the processes of steps S26 and S49 executed after the process of step S14.

That is, when the count value stored in the EEPROM 134 at the time of executing the process of step S14 is not the initial value, there is a possibility that ink has been injected between the process of step S11 and the process of step S13. Therefore, when the count value stored in the EEPROM 134 is not the initial value, the control unit 130 estimates that ink has been injected into the ink chamber 111.

On the other hand, when the count value stored in the EEPROM 134 at the time of executing the process of step S14 is the initial value, the ink has not been consumed after the previous ink injection (before the execution of the process of step S11 this time). Therefore, there is no possibility that ink has been injected between the processing of step S11 and the processing of step S13. Therefore, the control unit 130 estimates that the ink is not injected into the ink chamber 111 when the count value stored in the EEPROM 134 is the initial value.

As described above, the control unit 130 determines that the count value stored in the EEPROM 134 when the second position signal corresponding to the movement of the cover 70 to the exposure position is output by the cover sensor 72 in the estimation process (S14). When it is the initial value, it is estimated that the ink is not injected into the ink chamber 111, and when it is not the initial value, it is estimated that the ink is injected into the ink chamber 111.

[Modification 2]
In the above-described embodiment, the control unit 130 estimates whether or not ink is being injected into the ink chamber 111 depending on whether or not the second count value stored in the EEPROM 134 is larger than the threshold value. The second count value is not limited to the threshold value.

For example, the control unit 130 may estimate whether or not ink is being injected into the ink chamber 111, according to the time from when the cover 70 is moved to the exposure position to when it is moved to the covering position. In this case, the operation of the multifunction machine 10 described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 12 is slightly different from that of the above embodiment. Hereinafter, among the operations of the multi-function device 10 in Modification 2, the operations different from those in the above-described embodiment will be described. On the other hand, the description of the same operation as that of the above embodiment is omitted.

In the second modification, the control unit 130 includes a timer that counts time. The timer may be realized by the CPU 131 reading and executing a program stored in the ROM 132, or may be realized by a hardware circuit mounted on the control unit 130.

The control unit 130 starts counting the time by the timer, triggered by the output of the second position signal from the cover sensor 72 (S11). The control unit 130 also causes the timer to stop counting the time, triggered by the output of the first position signal from the cover sensor 72 (S13). The control unit 130 stores the value of the time when the counting is stopped in the RAM 133. The series of processes in which the control unit 130 counts the time and stores it in the RAM 133 is an example of the time counting process.

In the estimation process (S14), the control unit 130 estimates that the ink is not injected into the ink chamber 111 when the time value stored in the RAM 13 is equal to or less than the preset threshold value. The threshold value is set to a value that is shorter than the time required to complete the injection of ink into the ink chamber 111 after the cover 70 is exposed. For example, if the user removes the cap 113 from the injection port 112, injects the ink filled in the ink bottle into the ink chamber 111, and then attaches the cap 113 to the injection port 112, it takes about 10 seconds, for example. I assume. In this case, the threshold value is set to a value for a time shorter than 10 seconds (for example, about 1 to 5 seconds).

On the other hand, the control unit 130 estimates that ink has been injected into the ink chamber 111 when the time value stored in the RAM 13 is larger than the threshold value.

In addition, the control unit 130 may execute the operations in the above-described embodiment, the first modification, and the second modification in combination. For example, in the estimation process (S14), the control unit 130 determines whether the second count value is equal to or less than the threshold value, and also determines whether the time value stored in the RAM 13 is equal to or less than the threshold value. May be.

10... Multifunction device 14... Display unit 17... Operation unit 24... Recording unit 25... Communication unit 70... Cover 72... Cover sensor 100... Ink tank 111... Ink chamber 112... Inlet 125... Remaining amount sensor

Claims (10)

An ink chamber for storing ink, and a tank having an injection port for injecting ink into the ink chamber;
A recording unit that discharges the ink stored in the ink chamber to record an image on a sheet,
A display for displaying information,
A control unit for controlling the operation of the recording unit and the display unit,
The control unit is
Estimating whether or not ink has been injected into the ink chamber based on a comparison between the amount of ink ejected from the recording unit and a predetermined amount of ink during a predetermined period during which image recording is restricted Processing and
And an inquiry process for displaying inquiry information on the display unit to inquire whether or not ink is injected into the ink chamber,
An ink jet recording apparatus that does not execute the inquiry process according to the estimation result of the estimation process that ink is not injected into the ink chamber. 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit executes the inquiry process according to an estimation result of the estimation process that ink has been injected into the ink chamber. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein when the ink amount is equal to or less than a predetermined ink amount, the control unit estimates that ink is not injected into the ink chamber in the estimation process. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein when the amount of ink is larger than a predetermined amount of ink, the control unit estimates that ink has been injected into the ink chamber in the estimation process. When the total amount of ink ejected from the recording unit at a predetermined time while the image recording is regulated is equal to the predetermined value, the control unit does not inject ink into the ink chamber in the estimation process. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, which is estimated to be: When the total amount of ink ejected from the recording unit at a predetermined time while the image recording is regulated is different from the predetermined value, the control unit estimates that ink has been injected into the ink chamber in the estimation process. The inkjet recording device according to claim 1 . The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein when the time during which image recording is restricted is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value, the control unit estimates that ink is not injected into the ink chamber in the estimation process. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein when the time during which image recording is restricted is larger than a predetermined threshold value, the control unit estimates that ink has been injected into the ink chamber in the estimation process. The tank are each different color inks a plurality of the ink chamber for storing the, and from the claims 1 in which a plurality of the injection ports are formed for injecting ink into each ink chamber 8 The inkjet recording device according to any one of 1. An ink chamber for storing ink, a tank in which an injection port for injecting ink into the ink chamber is formed, and a recording unit for ejecting the ink stored in the ink chamber to record an image on a sheet A program executable by a computer having a display unit for displaying information,
Estimating whether or not ink has been injected into the ink chamber based on a comparison between the amount of ink ejected from the recording unit and a predetermined amount of ink during a predetermined period during which image recording is restricted Processing and
In addition to causing the computer to execute an inquiry process of displaying information on the display unit to inquire whether ink has been injected into the ink chamber,
A program that does not cause the computer to execute the inquiry process according to the estimation result of the estimation process that ink is not injected into the ink chamber.

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